The rock band denied that 62 percent of those who downloaded the group's new album paid nothing for the music.

Last month, Radiohead announced that it was releasing a digital version of the album for whatever fans wanted to pay. Internet research group, ComScore, on Monday released a report that said only 38 percent paid anything for In Rainbows.

In a statement, Radiohead's representatives called ComScore's report "wholly inaccurate."

Radiohead's pay-what-you-want offer is groundbreaking and is being watched closely by fans, music labels and other bands. How it fares could influence whether other acts try and sell their own music via the Web--without the support of the labels.

Andrew Lipsman, a ComScore senior analyst, didn't back down. In a blog posted to the company's site on Thursday, Lipsman said that he was "very confident" in the data.

ComScore derived its numbers by watching the Internet behavior of nearly 1,000 people. Several hundred among this group downloaded Radiohead's album.

In the blog, Lipsman said that when it comes to statistics, this is considered a large sample.

"We observed the actual online spending behavior from a robust sample of hundreds of individuals in order to produce an accurate estimate," Lipsman said in his post. "If we didn't have a reasonable sample from which to extrapolate, we wouldn't have released the data."

But in their statement, Radiohead's handlers said that ComScore's study "in no way reflected definitive market intelligence or, indeed, the true success of the project."

About the author

Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. Based in New York, Sandoval is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at @sandoCNET.
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